11.6http://www.maximumpc.com/taxonomy/term/17866/
enOrigin Eon11-S Reviewhttp://www.maximumpc.com/origin_eon11-s_review
<!--paging_filter--><h2>The little gaming notebook that could</h2>
<p>Origin PC’s <strong>Eon11-S</strong> isn’t the first 11.6-inch gaming notebook to come knocking—<a title="Alienware" href="http://www.alienware.com/" target="_blank">Alienware</a> kicked off the category in 2010 with its small-but-mighty <a title="M11x" href="http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/alienware_m11x_review" target="_blank">M11x</a>. But times have changed since the M11x’s debut, hardware and thermals have advanced, and thus Origin’s Eon11-S is no less impressive an accomplishment. Packed into the 11.2x8.1x1.4‑inch chassis are an Ivy Bridge Core i7-3720QM quad-core processor and a GeForce GT 650M GPU. They’re joined by a 256GB SSD in the standard 2.5-inch trim and 8GB of DDR3/1333 RAM across two slot‑driven SO-DIMMs. Incidentally, all the innards are accessible via a bottom panel that pops off with ease, making future upgrades possible.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u152332/inset_shot__small.jpg" width="620" height="413" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Eon11-S comes in either a “Traditional” design, with a simple matte-black textured lid, or this “A-Panel” design, in either matte red or black, for the same price. </strong></p>
<p>At present, upgrades are hardly called for. The Eon11-S ran circles around our 16.6-inch zero-point gaming notebook in the content creation benchmarks, with gains of more than 60 percent. In gaming, the two were a little more closely matched, with the zero-point’s GTX 460M having a slight, but measurable advantage. Nevertheless, the Eon11-S proved its gaming mettle, with scores of 43.6fps and 66fps in Far Cry 2 and Call of Duty 4, respectively. That was with a resolution of 1680x1050 on an external display (native is 1366x768). When we ran the more modern and graphically challenging STALKER: CoP at 16x10 res and the Ultra setting, the Eon11-S achieved a decent 22.9fps.</p>
<p>A more apt competitor for the Eon11-S might be <a title="Timeline M3" href="http://www.maximumpc.com/article/%5Bprimary-term%5D/acer_timeline_m3_review" target="_self">Acer’s Timeline M3</a> (reviewed July 2012)—a 15.6-inch gaming Ultrabook. The Eon11-S weighs less by almost a pound—that is until you account for the power bricks; then the two weigh nearly the same, so honking is the Eon11-S’s PSU. In performance the distinctions are more clear-cut. From Premiere to ProShow to Photoshop and MainConcept, the Eon11-S’s 2.6GHz quad-core CPU was like a schoolyard bully wailing on the Timeline M3’s growth-stunted 1.7GHz dual-core. We’re talking beatings of 100–156 percent. In games, where the M3’s GT 640M takes over, the Eon11-S showed a more modest 15 percent advantage. Still, it’s the obvious choice if a super-portable gaming notebook is what you’re after.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u152332/laptop_1317_copy_small.jpg" width="620" height="413" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Eon11-S lacks the flashy keyboard backlighting and other LED accents that characterized Alienware’s M11x, but it comes through where it counts: in performance.</strong></p>
<p>Capable as it is, the wee Eon11-S is not without tradeoffs. While it has the same 1366x768 screen res as the Timeline M3, the Eon11-S’s keyboard suffers some from the smaller footprint. The compressed layout can feel a little cramped, particularly for larger-handed folk. At least it doesn’t have the shallow keypress and maddening touchpad of an Ultrabook. The Eon11-S can also get pretty hot when running full tilt. A sizable vent on the left side of the machine expels a rush of hot air that could rival a space heater. Finally, battery life isn’t incredible. Three hours–plus is pretty decent for a standard-size gaming notebook, but it doesn’t come close to the five hours achieved by the Timeline M3. But all of these issues are just what come with the territory when you cram serious hardware into a small form factor. What you get in return is powerful rig that’s also amazingly portable, and we applaud OriginPC for filling that niche.</p>
http://www.maximumpc.com/origin_eon11-s_review#comments11.6gaming laptopHardwaremaximum pcnotebookOrigin Eon11-SportableSteamConsumer NotebooksSeptemberReviewsNotebooksMon, 01 Oct 2012 17:14:49 +0000Katherine Stevenson24261 at http://www.maximumpc.comAMD Catalyst 11.6 Drivers Now Available for Downloadhttp://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/amd_catalyst_116_drivers_now_available_download
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u69/radeon_thumbnail.jpg" width="228" height="194" style="float: right;" />When it comes to driver updates, computer users typically fall into one of two categories. There are the conservative types who prefer to wait a few days to make sure the new drivers don't break anything, and there are those who can't install the new drivers fast enough to take advantage of the new features, performance boosts, and bug fixes. If you fall into the latter category and own an AMD Radeon videocard, get to clicking because there's a new Catalyst package available.</p>
<p>AMD promises performance gains in a handful of titles with its new Catalyst 11.6 driver package, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Crysis</strong>: Up to 7 percent on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series single card configurations</li>
<li><strong>F1 2010</strong>: up to 8 percent in DirectX 11 mode on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series products in single and CrossFire configurations</li>
<li><strong>Far Cry 2</strong>: Up to 5 percent on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series products in single and CrossFire configurations</li>
<li><strong>HAWX</strong>: Up to 8 percent on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series products in single and CrossFire configurations</li>
<li><strong>Unigine Open GL Tests</strong>: Up to 10 percent on AMD Radeon HD 6000 series single card configurations</li>
</ul>
<p>Catalyst 11.6 also adds a handful of new features, such as Steady Video, Image Stabilization brought to you by YouTube, and decode acceleration of MPEG-4 part 2 content in Microsoft video player applications (through MFT support) for all Radeon HD 6000 cards.</p>
<p><a href="http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/Pages/downloads.aspx">Driver Download</a><br /><a href="http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/AMDCatalyst116ReleaseNotes.aspx">Release Notes</a></p>
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/amd_catalyst_116_drivers_now_available_download#comments11.6amdcatalystDriversgpugraphics cardSoftwarevideocardNewsWed, 15 Jun 2011 20:23:11 +0000Paul Lilly19046 at http://www.maximumpc.com